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Hot Salsa: Pineapple and Red Chilli Salsa with Red Pepper

Serves 2

1 med Pineapple, peeled, cut lengthways, cut the spine out and cut into chunks. Retain leftover pulp and juice

½ fresh red Chilli, diced then mulched

2 cloves of grated garlic

½ large Red Onion, diced

3 small Scallions, cut on the diagonal

1 teaspoon Black Sesame seeds

2 heaped teaspoons Date powdered sugar or sweetener of choice

A splash of Rice Vinegar

½…

SALSA ZING: 'New Salsa' Chop up a medley of 6-8 cherry tomatoes, 1 large Spanish red onion; diced, 1/4 bunch of coriander, ¼ bunch flat leaf parsley and 1/5 bunch mint (3 aromatics combined), chopped up small and ½ lime or lemon zest and juice. Variations: Loaded spicy Kimchi or Kraut. Use a splash of umeboshi vinegar, brown rice or wine vinegar. A few chopped green olives to make your salsa dance.

A few drops of oil doesn’t go amiss.

The Vinegars for the salsa:

All wine vinegars, Red Wine vinegar, White Wine vinegar, Rice wine vinegar, Umeboshi vinegar, Sherry wine vinegar, Balsamic vinegar

The Seasonings for the salsa:

Salt and Pepper

Paprika

Sumac

The Oils for the salsa:

Olive oil

Grapeseed oil

Canola oil

Safflower oil

Sunflower oil

All-purpose oil

The Olives for the salsa:

Spanish black

Kalamata

Spanish…

Garlic Potato Mash Bash

Potatoes per person: 3 medium potatoes; peeled and cooked. 20 minutes cooking time.

Ingredients: The trio is:

Spanish Garlic, 3-6 cloves

1 red fresh chilli, cut on the diagonal and some cut into flecks

½ red Onion, diced

A splash of plant-based milk, rice milk, to make the mash

1 tsp powdered chilli powder

1 tsp powdered Cayenne

1/2 tsp Tamari

2 tbsp vegan Sweet Chilli Sauce

1 Lime, zest and…

Depending on who you talk to paellas are regional in Latin America, South America and Spain. My objective is to make each individual one like a fiesta dish. As colourful as possible. Here are 5 of mine.

Paella One: 3 Chilli Paella

Spanish rice, oily plant-based sardines, turmeric for the rice, oil of choice such as olive oil or safflower oil, vegetables of choice including carrots, beans, corn, peas, onions, beetroot, garlic and broadbeans etc, smoky paprika and a pinch of…

Air-ovened Corn-On-The-Cob with Green Cayenne and Corn Sauce

Prepare 4 ears of corn. Wash the corn throughly. Leave the husk on and disregard the silky bit. Trim the tip of the corn and prepare and trim the pulled back foliage of the husk to fit the roaster pan keeping the husk intact with the corn which will eventually give a smoky effect. We are not looking to remove the husk.  Add a thin film of canola oil or olive oil for the ears of corn to roast at 250C degrees for 15 minutes.…

Salsa a la veracruzana. Tomato, Onion and Green stuffed olives (pimento).

Salsa bandera. 'flag sauce' named for the red of the tomato, the white of the onion and the green of the chilli.

Salsa borracha. Drunken sauce made from smoky chilli pasilla, garlic, onion, white vegan cheese e.g., vegan feta and puique vegan-style. Puique is a white, thick sweet alcoholic drink made from agave.

Salsa de tomatillos. With green chillies, onion and cilantro.

Salsa. Spanish…

What I Eat is my mantra. What's Your 3-Word Mantra? Some examples of 'What I Eat' are ....

1 big bowl of roast organic vegetables in picante sauce

1 mixed salad bowl

Rhubarb and Strawberry Shortcake – New Zealand style

Loaded young Jackfruit Bourguignon with carrots and mashed potatoes in olive oil

Epic jacket potatoes with chilli con carne and all the trimmings

Leek and Silverbeet tart with Vegalomi

Plant-based sausage-rolls in puff pastry…

Two Bolivian Quinoa Kitcharis

Prepare and cook the quinoa to packet instructions. ½ cup per person to 1 cup of water. I favour au natural or tri-coloured. Drain and put aside.

In a skillet fry the herbs for a few minutes starting with 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp white pepper with chilli (Togarashi), 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp dried chilli flakes and 1 tsp onion seeds (Kalonji seeds) and salt to taste.

Add the vegetables including: 5 x baby beets; cooked and peeled,…

1. Sticky tamarind carrots with green chilli coconut dairy-free yoghurt

2. Avocado dippers with a chipotle sauce

3. Lentil Polpette with coriander coconut yoghurt

4. Epazote and Mexican Oregano

5. Made-with-Plants dairy-free (DF) Sour Cream

6. Garlic Chives is also called Garlic Shoots

7. Udon noodles with Gochugaru, shitake mushrooms with warm endive

8. Saffron mayonnaise, dairy-free Pesto mayonnaise and Smoky mayonnaise

9. Red…

My first No 1. Survival Food is hearty Bouillon. 

If you and a friend were stranded on a desert island and had to choose your first favourite 50 survival foods what would that be? I’d like to see your list too.

Survival Foods A List:

Vegan 'beefy' Bouillon or a 'winter'' bouillon like Genmai Miso dashi stock, Brown rice, Millet, Peas, Carrots, Corn, Spinach, Apples, Oranges , Berries, Mango, Potatoes, Lettuce, Broccoli, Scallions, Capsicum, Lemon, Lime, Pineapple, Red…

Busy today and in Newtown, vegan extravaganza for some.  Lunch consisted of a BBQ vegan Chinese bun, a banana drink clearly labelled 'vegan' where it once was not the case and Made in Australia Butter Babe, Spread, Sizzle, Slay Barely Salted Dairy Free European-style Cultured Butter with another purchase its sister Made In Australia Butter Babe Truffle Tease Truffle Parmesan Dairy Free European-style Cultured Butter. The Vegan sign clearly showing at the back of the packet. Moving on....

There is a saying amongst salsa aficionados when the question is asked: What makes a successful salsa? The answer is "No less than 3 from the categories and no more than 6 from the categories". See previous post. Here are two more salsas I would like to share with you today.

Fresh Pineapple and Red Hot Chilli Peppers

1 fully ripe pineapple

a handful of red hot chilli peppers

1/2 red onion

1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed

a splash of rice…

Ideas for ‘Nice Bites’ – My Mezze Plate consists of ….

Lunch box size rice balls- festive, plain or grated beetroot, Dolmades, a whipped avocado and garlic dip, a beetroot and ‘Greek-style’ dairy-free yoghurt dip, a pumpkin and cashew cream dip, slices of avocado rolled in a few black sesame seeds and served with a thyme, garlic or a saffron aioli, fresh sliced tomatoes with Greek seasonings, a selection of mixed herbed olives, onion, sesame and white miso dip, raw carrots and…

Sydney Vegan. Abolitionist. Welcome to my edition of Vegan Verve. This is a celebration of conscious eating and an empowerment of vegan products, producers and manufacturers. Vegan Verve hails all those who empower plant-based culture and we support you with our minds, our hearts and our bucks. We can create something special together for the animals, our health, the environment and all that is planet-friendly. This are a vegan run one page space.  It's also logical to support local…

Lunch at Dana's Cafe in Marrickville consisted of a vegan roll, avocado, mushrooms, spinach and grilled onions on a vegan bun. Your choice of plant-based sauce. I chose mayonnaise. The Greeks know how to make something as simple as a vegan roll delicious! The vegan rolls are made on the premises the proprietor told me. 

The Village Wholefood place in Marrickville is closing down. There are still plenty of bargains. My stash today includes a lovely little kitchen blackboard for recipe writing, 30% off unhulled tahini, an enamel fruit bowl at .50cents, turkish rosemary for under $1.50 and a bag of buckwheat flour at $4.00. Not bad for a days shopping

Whether it be Black, White, Green or Pink peppercorns did you know they all come from the same stem it's just a case of maturity as represented by their colour.  They are all anti-inflammatories, circulatory stimulants, antioxidents and suit Mexican cooking. Pink peppercorns are used in mojos as a garnish, black and white peppercorns  in culinary use are powerful agents in small doses that lends contrast to a dish and green peppercorns are briny, the youngest of all the peppercorns and are…

The 12 tastes are useful to build a vegan pantry repertoire based on taste. They are: Bitter A.K.A. some lettuce leaves for salad, Sweet A.K.A. vegan cream and Sour A.K.A. balsamic and the vinegars, Astringent A.K.A. citrus, Spicy A.K.A. the spices, Salty A.K.A. miso, Hot A.K.A paprika powder, cayenne powder and chilli powder, Plum A.K.A. Japanese plum sauce, umeboshi plum, vegan plum wine etc, Pungent A.K.A. quinoa, mustard etc Tart A.K.A. tamarind, granny smith apples, the Aromatic Herbs…

One Taco - a favourite

White vegan 'fish' or vegan 'fish'bites

1/2 tsp cumin, ground

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

Taco Toppings

1/2 small Spanish cabbage

2 medium avocados, sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped or to taste

4 limes, cut into quarters

1/2 c vegan Feta cheese or a vegan white chalky cheese

Add the seasonings: cumin, cayenne pepper,…